CIEE Global Institute – Rome

Course name: Power and Networks in Italian Business Course number: BUSI 3005 ROIT Programs offering course: Rome Open Campus (Business Track) Language of instruction: English U.S. Semester Credits: 3 Contact Hours: 45 Term: Spring 2018

Course Description This course will examine various facets of Italian history and social fabric that have given rise to some of the world’s most powerful networks: from the Roman Empire to the Renaissance, from the unification of Italy to its membership in the European Union, from the Vatican to the Mafia. Our approach will thus focus on three main areas: context, theory and skills. We will study how and to what extent these phenomena still influence the way Italian businesses work today. We will analyze how power can be created and strategically managed and held for generations and how contemporary Italian business organizations still employ some ancient networking skills, adding modern communication and other strategies, to develop competitive advantages. We will study theories concepts such as network advantage, brokerage, knowledge management, wicked problems, “the strength of the weak ties” and embeddedness, drawing from Marc Granovetter’s fundamental work. We will identify and develop skills key to facing the many challenges inherent to these concepts.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Understand and describe how brokerage can create value

Discuss the contingencies under which a network advantage can be achieved

Discern the social mechanisms responsible for trust and reputation

Describe how knowledge management is used to communicate across an enterprise

Explain the importance of networks in the context of wicked problems within society

Use the acquired individual skills needed for effective negotiations in networks

Identify some of the basic elements characterizing Italian business culture, and how power and networks work within it. http://businessculture.org/southern-europe/business-culture-in-italy/

Course Prerequisites Business Economics, Strategic Management

Methods of Instruction This course will combine lectures, class debates, fieldtrips and on-site classes, walking tours, conversations with guest speakers and creative activities.

Assessment and Final Grade Two Quizzes: 10% Negotiation: 10% Written Assignment: 15% Group Presentation: 15% Final Exam: 30% Class Participation: 20%

Course Requirements Two Quizzes Two quizzes – comprised of short-answer or short-essay questions – will be given during the course to test understanding of the text, lectures and activities undertaken to allow students to provide written feedback on topics discussed and material covered throughout the course. The second quiz will not be cumulative, but only test the material covered since the first quiz. Negotiation A simulated international sales transaction will be prepared in a team setting then carried out in one-to-one negotiations to hone students’ skills in communication, persuasion and sensitivity to issues of integrity and trust. Written Assignment Each student should submit one paper by the end of the course. The paper should be between 2000-2500 words and should be structured in three parts:

Description of a real life, Italian business, social or political situation in which the strategic use of networks can be implemented to obtain a specific goal

Analysis of the network structure

Discussion on how to leverage the type of network to achieve the specified goal Organization, grammar, concise and accurate expression of concepts, and overall impact of the paper will contribute to this assignment’s evaluation. Reference both to the literature we have studied throughout the course and other authorities students identify on their own must support and supplement the arguments and conclusions. Students must use (footnote) references, citing to at least FIVE (5) different sources and properly footnote them as authority for their observations. The Chicago Citation Style must be used (see this link for a quick summary) for footnotes and bibliography.

Group Presentation The in-class presentation will be delivered by the students in groups of no more than four students. Each group will have to select a problem of the Italian economic, political, or social context that can be addressed by means of network management. Design thinking should inform the project. All group members should be familiar with the whole topic. The presentation should last 20 minutes. The audience (both the instructor and the other students) will make questions about the presentation to each group member. Of utmost importance is to give examples, provide data, figures, and clearly explain how network theory and design thinking has informed the development of the advice provided in the presentation. Final Exam Students will take a final exam at the end of the course. The exam (short answers and short essays) will include all topics analyzed in class. Rubrics will be used to assess each assignment. Class Participation As part of your work in this course, students should demonstrate learning beyond the submission of written assignments or presentations. As such, all students receive grades based upon participation. Participation is valued as meaningful contribution in the digital and tangible classroom, utilising the resources and materials presented to students as part of the course. Students receive grades based upon their contributions both in the classroom and in the Canvas course.

Meaningful contribution requires students to be prepared, as directed by the Instructor, in advance of each class session. Students must clearly demonstrate they have engaged with the materials where directed. This includes valued or informed engagement in, for example, small group discussions, online discussion boards, peer-to-peer feedback (after presentations), interaction with guest speakers, and attentiveness on co-curricular and outside-of-classroom activities. Attendance Policy Regular class attendance is required throughout the program, and all unexcused absences will result in a lower participation grade for any affected CIEE course. Due to the intensive schedules for Open Campus and Short Term programs, unexcused absences that constitute more than 10% of the total course sessions will also result in a lower final grade. Students who transfer from one CIEE class to another during the add/drop period will not be considered absent from the first session(s) of their new class, provided they were marked present for the first session(s) of their original class. Otherwise, the absence(s) from the original class carry over to the new class and count against the grade in that class. For CIEE classes, excessively tardy (over 15 minutes late) students must be marked absent. Attendance policies also apply to any required co-curricular class excursion or event, as well as to Internship, Service Learning, or required field placement. Students who miss class for personal travel will be marked as absent and unexcused. No make-up or re-sit opportunity will be provided. An absence in a CIEE course will only be considered excused if:

a doctor’s note is provided

a CIEE staff member verifies that the student was too ill to attend class

satisfactory evidence is provided of a family emergency

Attendance policies also apply to any required class excursion, with the exception that some class excursions cannot accommodate any tardiness, and students risk being marked as absent if they fail to be present at the appointed time. Unexcused absences will lead to the following penalties: Percentage of Total Course Hours Missed

Equivalent Number of Open Campus Semester classes

Minimum Penalty

Up to 10% 1 No academic penalty

10 – 20% 2 Reduction of final grade

More than 20% 3 content classes, or 4 language classes

Automatic course failure, and possible expulsion

Weekly Schedule

Week 1 Introduction to the course, an overview, begin Part 1: “Power in Context”: Syllabus will be presented and reviewed, with emphasis on assessment methods and course requirements. Read: an introduction to Ancient Rome by Mary Beard: “Why ancient Rome matters to the modern world.” View first 30 minutes of video by same author. And See Mark Granovetter to see Why you should take this course? Read Newman’s, “Getting a Job: A study of Contacts and Careers, by Mark Granovetter”: http://www2.widener.edu/~spe0001/405web/405%20Readings/GettingaJobReviewNewman.pdf

Week 2 Continuing in our work in “Power in Context” and Italy’s

Historical Perspective We’ll look at Cicero and Machiavelli, two heavyweights who set up much of the modern world’s views about both power and networks. We’ll connect these political and philosophical giants to the formal and informal organizations and networks that contemporary Italian managers deal with every day. We’ll analyze the powerful dynamics that emerge between government bodies, competitors, NGOs clients, employees and even criminal entities as these stakeholders develop ties and relationships.

Read selected excerpts from Sellers (pages 245-251, on the figure of Cicero; then 269-274 on the American Revolution and Cicero; and 278-280 on the Triumph of modernity). Read the following of Machiavelli’s “The Prince.” Chapters XV, XVI, XVIII, XXI, XXII, XXIII and XXIV, selecting key excerpts that characterize power and leadership. Please use the PDF uploaded on the Files page of Canvas. We’ll also review the Italian Constitution (file on Canvas) and identify relevant articles. The relevance of ancient Roman networking in today’s Italy: SPQR. Watch this with Mary Beard. And this one about Cicero.

Short quiz 1.

Week 3 The modern Italian business context. Value through brokerage

and network advantages This week’s sessions will connect historic roots to modern Italian “context,” from its legal system to other power centers and industrial sectors. We’ll start moving into the second part of the course, that of “Theories.”

The modern Italian business context. Guest speaker, journalist Virginia Vitalone will talk to us about the power of the media in Italy and the networks it moves within, contrasting this modern reality with those of Cicero and Machiavelli. Explore and read the following sites: http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/region-of-italy/7661-challenges-of-doing-business-in-italy - and http://2016.export.gov/italy/doingbusinessinitaly/index.asp Italian legal system: ancient Roman roots http://dailyhistory.org/How_has_ancient_Rome_influenced_European_law%3F Comparison Civil law and Common law systems (see power point) Review article on the Palace of Justice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Justice,_Rome Visit to Italy’s Palazzo di Giustizia, Piazza dei Tribunali, and presentation on the Court’s jurisdiction. Lavinia Melitti, Roma Tre law student will speak on Mani Pulite” and “Mafia Capitale. Read these three articles: - Mark Thomas: “Enhanced Company Performance through the Development of Network Alliance Management Skills: A Four Point Framework” https://goo.gl/I5jt6D - Re´my Magnier-Watanabe, Caroline Benton and Dai Senoo, “A study of knowledge management enablers across countries” https://goo.gl/Ugsl6l and glance at the definitions in: - John Girard and JoAnn Girard, “Defining knowledge management:

Toward an applied compendium,” at:

http://www.iiakm.org/ojakm/articles/2015/volume3_1/OJAKM_Volume3_1pp1-20.pdf Networks and the strength of the weak tie. Read Mark Granovetter’s seminal papers, “The Strength of Weak Ties” and “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness,” which are posted on the files page on Canvas. Presentation of Federalberghi (see three files on Canvas). We’ll discuss these articles and watch several videos, including this introduction to the Concept of Embeddedness and the Third Italy, with Granovetter to deepen our understanding of these topics and how they relate to Italian Business.

Watch Mark Granovetter, The Concept of Embeddedness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGbCjzmm2M Dalton Conley: The Strength of Weak Ties: https://goo.gl/euqPyg Jacob Morgan: The Importance of Weak Ties (Not Strong Ties) in the Workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7AzRVxhEXA Dave Biesinger, Network Embeddedness Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCfvEk28VRw&t=32s David Logan talks about the five kinds of tribes that humans naturally form: Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership#t-795660

Week 4 The social mechanisms responsible for trust and reputation; negotiating from strength. We’ll start to focus on “Skills.”

Guest Lecture, Networking skills: Connect to Success, Caron De Mars, Environment, Science, Technology & Health Counselor, US Embassy Rome. See “Introduction to Knowledge Management”: https://goo.gl/lDn972. See also Dellarocas, C. “Reputation mechanisms. Handbook on Economics and Information Systems,” Canvas. Video to introduce new skill acquisition: Design Thinking: https://goo.gl/Bcx5x5

Read this article on Design Thinking: https://goo.gl/ywX6X4 Short Quiz 2 Begin Negotiation exercise. Read Harbaugh and Britzke “Primer on Negotiation: Controlling Information and Making and Meeting Offers,” on Files page on Canvas View ppt presentation. Distribute confidential information. Create teams and pairings.

Week 5 Knowledge management for intra-firm communications and

effective negotiations During this week students will continue working on the “Skills” and discuss the role of knowledge management for intra-firm communications and effective negotiations.

Negotiation Skills Workshop. Work in teams for the negotiation; focus is on planning and communication skills. Guest lecture from the art world (that inherited from Roman and Renaissance tradition) Ilaria Della Torre, Director General of Rome’s Quadrennial. She will speak about the importance of Public endorsements, promotion, the many “tribes” she must move within to make this gigantic event happen every four year. She will also address some of the negotiation issues related to the Quadrenniale and skills necessary in her work.

Negotiation, followed by a debriefing. Then we will move into the issue of “wicked problems,” such as social and economic inequality, climate change, urban decay and poverty, which represent the challenge of our century. Networks and collaborative efforts can represent one approach to address these problems. Read Rittel and Webber, “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning” [What are “Wicked Problems?”] http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/ellendo/rittel/rittel-dilemma.pdf

The role of social capital. We’ll continue our discussion of wicked problems and have a conversation with Simone Baglivo, Retaker and blogger making connections among students, schools, mass transit authorities, waste removal companies and law enforcement agencies to solve Rome’s “wicked problem” of urban degradation.

He will describe WAKE UP Roma, an event that brought together 3000 Retakers in 4 piazzas in Rome with over 50 corporate sponsors. Read: Weber and Khademian, “Wicked Problems, Knowledge Challenges and Collaborative Capacity Builders in Network Settings.” (PDF in Canvas) Work in groups for presentations.

Week 6 Group Presentations Final Exam NOTE: this schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor to take advantage of current experiential learning opportunities. Course Materials

Readings

Articles:

Beard, Mary. “Why ancient Rome matters to the modern world.” https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/02/mary-beard-why-ancient-rome-matters

Dellarocas, C. Reputation mechanisms. Handbook on Economics and Information Systems, 2006, 629-660. Available on Canvas.

Camillus, John C. “Strategy as a Wicked Problem,” https://hbr.org/2008/05/strategy-as-a-wicked-problem.

Capuano, Marco. Challenges of Doing Business in Italy, July 2011. http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/region-of-italy/7661-challenges-of-doing-business-in-italy%20-

Girard, John and Girard, JoAnn. “Defining knowledge management: Toward an applied compendium,” http://www.iiakm.org/ojakm/articles/2015/volume3_1/OJAKM_Volume3_1pp1-20.pdf

Granovetter, Mark. “The strength of Weak Ties.” https://sociology.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/the_strength_of_weak_ties_and_exch_w-gans.pdf

Granovetter, Mark. “Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness,” http://www.jstor.org.biblio-proxy.uniroma3.it/stable/pdf/2780199.pdf

Harbaugh and Britzke “Primer on Negotiation: Controlling Information and Making and Meeting Offers,” Available on Canvas.

Machiavelli, Nicolò. The Prince: http://history-world.org/The_Prince_T.pdf and another version: https://archive.org/details/princemac00machuoft For our purposes, read only chapters XV, XVI, XVIII, XXI, XXII, XXIII and XXIV, in files in Canvas.

Magnier-Watanabe, Re´my; Benton, Caroline and Senoo, Dai. “A study of knowledge management enablers across countries.” https://goo.gl/Q04PFa

Newman, Katherine, “Getting a Job: A study of Contacts and Careers, by Mark Granovetter” http://www2.widener.edu/~spe0001/405web/405%20Readings/GettingaJobReviewNewman.pdf (book review by Newman) (also on Canvas).

Padgett, J. F., & Ansell, C. K., Robust Action and the Rise of the Medici, 1400-1434. American journal of sociology, 1993, 1259-1319

http://home.uchicago.edu/~jpadgett/papers/published/robust.pdf

“Passport to Trade: A bridge to Success, Italian Business Culture” http://businessculture.org/southern-europe/business-culture-in-italy/

Rittel and Webber, “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning” [What are “Wicked Problems?”] http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/ellendo/rittel/rittel-dilemma.pdf

Thomas, Mark. “Enhanced Company Performance through the Development of Network Alliance Management Stills: A Four Point Framework” https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark_Thomas27/publication/299489811_Enhanced_company_performance_through_the_development_of_network_alliance_management_skills_a_four-point_framework/links/5706326008aea3d28020020e.pdf?inViewer=0&pdfJsDownload=0&origin=publication_detail

Weber, E. P., & Khademian, A. M., Wicked problems, knowledge challenges, and collaborative capacity builders in network settings. Public administration review, 68(2), 2008, 334-349. (PDF in Canvas)

Books:

Burt, R. S. “Neighbor networks: Competitive advantage local and personal.” Oxford University Press, 2010 Granovetter, M., Getting a Job: A Study of Contacts and Careers, University of Chicago Press,1995 Greve, H, Rowley, T. Shipilov, A., “Network Advantage: How to Unlock Value From Your Alliances and Partnerships,” John Wiley & Sons, 2013 Nitin N., Eccles, R. “Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form, and Action,” Harvard Business School Press, 1992 Simmel, G., Wolff, K. “The Sociology of Georg Simmel,” Simon and Schuster, 1950 https://ia801408.us.archive.org/9/items/sociologyofgeorg030082mbp/sociologyofgeorg030082mbp.pdf see especially toward end chapter on secrecy Thich Nhat Hanh. “The Art of Power,” Harper Collins Ebooks. http://terebess.hu/zen/mesterek/Thich%20Nhat%20Hanh%20-%20The%20Art%20of%20Power.pdf Videos:

Mary Beard on SPQR: The History of Ancient Rome: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLnHhqMH4xc Dave Biesinger, Network Embeddedness Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCfvEk28VRw&t=32s Dalton Conley: The Strength of Weak Ties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Bm93gN1zJg&feature=youtu.be Mark Granovetter, The Concept of Embeddedness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXGbCjzmm2M Mark Granovetter, Social Networks and Getting a Job: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3bBajcR5fE David Logan, Five kinds of tribes that humans naturally form: Ted Talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership#t-795660 Historia Civilis His Year - Cicero (63 B.C.E.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkZx0q_3rYI

Jacob Morgan: The Importance of Weak Ties (Not Strong Ties) in the Workplace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7AzRVxhEXA Additional Online Resources:

Italy[edit] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Fordism#Italy:

https://www.export.gov/apex/article2?id=Italy-Market-Overview Governmental document on Doing business in Italy

DailyHistory.org “How has ancient Rome influenced European law?” http://dailyhistory.org/How_has_ancient_Rome_influenced_European_law%3F “Design Thinking” https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/f/fd/DesignThinking.ogv/DesignThinking.ogv.480p.webm Design Thinking: https://goo.gl/ywX6X4 “Introduction to Knowledge Management” https://goo.gl/lDn972 BBC - Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit - Episode 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYjnRAFFy4g Leonardi, P.: The Coworker Network: http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/the_coworker_network

Social media networking can help solve even the most 'wicked' problems: http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2013/dec/08/social-media-networking-wicked-problems

Wikipedia on the Palace of Justice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Justice,_Rome

http://www.theelementsofpower.com/ and http://www.theelementsofpower.com/cultural-differences/italy/ Further reading materials will be assigned on a week-by-week basis.

Professor will provide a complete list of complementary readings, media sources and articles published in national and international media in order to stimulate class debates and activities. Media Resources N/A